Osso Buco

Osso Buco

Also referred to as Braised Veal Shanks. Recipe from Trattoria: The Best of Casual Italian Cooking. Osso buco is a dish prepared with veal shanks which have been braised in wine and vegetables until they are fall-off-the-bone tender. A special untensil is used to scoop out the marrow from the bone.

Gremolata:

Instructions

Prepare veal shanks:
Spread the flour on a plate and evenly coat the veal shanks with the flour, shaking off any excess. Tie the shanks with kitchen twine so they hold together during the cooking process.

veal shanks tied and floured

In a large frying pan or pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. When hot, add the veal shanks and lightly brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove the veal shanks from the pan and set aside.

Reduce the hat to medium-low and add the onion, carrot, celery and fennel. Sauté until the edges of the onion are translucent, 3-4 minutes, do not allow to brown. Add the garlic, marjoram, thyme and bay leaf and stir until blended. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Return the veal to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Raise the heat to high, pour in the wine and deglaze the pan by stirring to dislodge any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

When the mixture boils add about 2 cups of the meat stock; the liquid should reach three-fourths the way up the sides of the veal shanks. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover partially and simmer, turning the shanks over occasionally. Continue cooking, adding more stock as needed to keep the mixture moist, until the veal is tender when pierced with a fork and there are about 2 cups of liquid and vegetables remaining about 2 1/2 hours. If there is too much liquid, uncover and boil gently to concentrate the broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Gremolata
Toss together all the ingredients until evenly distributed.

To Serve
Discard the bay leaf. Place 1 veal shank on each plate and spoon the broth and vegetables on top. Sprinkle with the gremolata and serve immediately.

The Proper Meat Cut
This is what the proper ossobuco veal shank cut should look like. It is quite meaty with a large center bone. It is customary when eating this dish to scoop the bone marrow out with a special "marrow spoon". Although quite rich it is very delicious.

the proper cut of veal shank for ossobuco

marrow spoon from shirleypewtershop.com

Reviews [1]

Osso Buco is a family favorite. This is a warm "comfort food" for us. Sometimes I bake this in the oven rather than cook it on the cook top but either way we love it. I usually serve this with the traditional saffron risotto. I add a bit more tomato than called for in the recipe because we like tomatoes. Other than that I pretty much follow the recipe as is.